Our 2014 host, Kirti Upadhaya, at The Courtauld Gallery in London, shares her reflections from the April 12th event:

The experience of both participating and hosting the Slow Art Day was very rewarding as it allowed me to spend time engaging with five beautiful paintings while also allowing me to consider the nature of this engagement.

Slow Art Day reinforces the importance of direct engagement with a work of art. Living in a world where information is readily available at the press of a button, I often forget that sometimes, the simplest way to access art is to build a relationship with it, to just look at it for a little longer.

Read more about Upadhaya’s and others’ experiences at Slow Art Day on the Courtauld Gallery’s blog here.

Slow Art Day 2014 at the di Rosa (Napa, CA: www.dirosaart.org) was the second year we participated. Again this year, the group of participants was intimate – all the better to share observations. And again I was the docent/guide for our slow art lookers. I chose a mix of mediums – two sculptures, two works on paper, and one painting. After viewing these works, we had a picnic lunch on property – the day was sunny and mild — and we discussed what we had seen, including whatever surprise element we had noticed by looking slowly. Given those basics, we’re now thinking about customizing our approach for next year. The recommended 10 minutes of slow looking without discussing seems too long. Next year, we’ll likely spend 7 minutes looking and 3 minutes discussing at each work. We’ll lunch and chat about what we saw, as we did this year. But because it is difficult to recall specifics about each work, after lunch we’ll return to the galleries for an additional viewing of each work. This will reinforce the discussion and likely open up new insights based on everyone’s observations. We’ll still follow the basic structure of Slow Art Day, but alter it to accommodate our somewhat unique situation. (Visitors to the di Rosa Collection may not return to the galleries without a docent/guide.) We’re looking forward to next year and hope to include more participants.

“Usually, I feel pressured to look at everything in a specific gallery (or, if out-of-town, an entire museum) and that inevitably means spending too little time with the life’s work of so many talented, creative people. That’s what Slow Art Day is attempting to remedy.

Rather than a Slow Art Day, there should be an ongoing Slow Art Tour. I’d come once a week.”

“But what’s interesting about Slow Art Day is that it offers a practice (look for at least 10 minutes) and the possibility of an experience that’s owned by the viewer. It’s why giving attention to art at the very least brings new perspective, and is in the words of business thinkers potentially ‘disruptive’ in that it can over time shift how you see things.”

But what’s interesting about Slow Art Day is that it offers a practice (look for at least 10 minutes) and the possibility of an experience that’s owned by the viewer. It’s why giving attention to art at the very least brings new perspective, and is in the words of business thinkers potentially ‘disruptive’ in that it can over time shift how you see things. In a world of customization and personalization digital technology provides us with the stuff based on previous choices – it makes life easier.

– John O’Reilly, Slow Art Day and the value of spending time looking at pictures, Image Source, (via).

Read on to find out the original inspiration and “a-ha” moment that sparked Slow Art Day’s birth, why freedom is important for the viewer’s engagement, what Phil Terry means by “monogamous-in-the-moment“and much more here.

The Museum of Paleontology and Palaeontology Maglie (Lecce, Italy) will host “The Origin of Art” Saturday, April 12.

I am hosting this event because I firmly believe that we must understand the art from its origins, from the times when the basic need of man to communicate. The understanding of this concept requires slow pace to overcome the aesthetic idea of works of art, to discover the values ​​and the deepest needs of the soul.

If you are in Salento (Puglia), do not hesitate to connect with us! Good luck to all of you for your respective goals Days of Art on Saturday.

My name is Aleema and I am American from NYC. I will be hosting a Slow Art Day at JAMM Art Gallery in Dubai, UAE, where I am currently based on a short-term project.

I decided to host an event because I strongly believe in the experience of art, and thus, looking at art slowly. I am also the founder of an online art platform, Art Waddle, that focuses on helping people connect with the art they love, in person.

If you are ever in Dubai or NY, please feel free to connect! Best of luck to all of you for your respective Slow Art Days on Saturday.